India is passing through her most critical - perhaps dangerous - times. World's largest Democracy, India has today become the largest cesspool of official corruption, crime, political opportunism and caste/communal animosities. Political Parties are now Family Corporates, Bureaucracy their franchisee and crony capitalists their partners as they embark upon plundering the Nation together. Time for India to wake up and restart! One Anna or Kejriwal is not enough - Karan Kharb

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Friday, October 05, 2012

Illicit Collusion in Coalition

Karan Kharb

In principle, a ‘coalition government’ is as democratic and
constitutionally as valid as any single party majority government. On the face
of it, such governments are more broad based and far more inclusive in nature. Coalitions also seem to represent larger part
of the population, enable blending of diverse ideologies, and symbolize
collective identity and solidarity of the nation. The façade is so fascinating
that such governments should be powerful enough to trigger a boom in prosperity,
fortify security and boost up absolute harmony and satisfaction in the society
– a dreamful of Ram Rajya! Far from being so soothing and rewarding, however,
the present UPA Coalition Government has given the country more woes than
service, prosperity or security by messing up the systemic order so badly that governance
became immovably dysfunctional in a quagmire of corruption and scams that have
no equal in India’s history.Only now,
freed from Mamata Banerjee’s tantrums, a relieved yet beleaguered UPA flounders
to refurbish its smothered image and redeem whatever is left of its credibility
by moving ahead with its professed reform plans in a do-or-die style. How far
it manages to crawl before doing or dying will depend upon the not so trust
worthy friends-cum-foes within and outside the coalition like Mulayam Singh’s
Samajwadi Party and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samajwadi Party who have developed
uncanny virtues of colliding and colluding at the same time.

Almost all the
big blow-ups of political corruption like Bofors, Jain Hawala case, Tehelka,
Fodder scam and many more have ended in damp squib as we can see their beneficiaries
enjoying same or more power and pelf to this day.This phenomenon has emboldened the
politicians and bureaucrats who now take big blames boldly with arrogant smirk
and assured impunity. Politics has thus become a big-ticket trade to make or
break governments in India. No wonder newer political parties have been
mushrooming. As many as 1112 registered unrecognised
political parties, 52 state parties and 6 national parties in India were on
record in 2010 as per ECI’s notification dated 17 Sep 2010. More have been
added since.

In the Indian context, ‘coalition’ has emerged as illicit ‘collusion’
of mutual convenience for fulfilling narrow self interests of partners. And
these partners are sometimes those parties and even individuals who otherwise
would be insignificant entities. The first sin committed by the coalition
partners, especially those who rush to join the pack after election
results, is that they abandon their pre-poll assurances given to the electorate
through their manifestos. Casting their warrior robes and arms away, they
suddenly start charming those very enemies whom they had wowed to defeat and
destroy just a few days ago – but only until the poll results came. They also
have no qualms in abandoning their own proclaimed manifestos and agreeing to what
they were bitterly opposed if they can see a carrot of substantial political and/or
material benefits dangling before them. Ideologies have given way to
opportunistic gaming where coalition partners stick together primarily to
exploit their positions either to amass huge wealth by corrupt means or to
consolidate their position in a way that would enhance their bargaining power
to influence government decisions by blackmail. We are witnessing this blatantly naked show
daily in our polity today.Historically,
coalitions have consecutively retarded India’s advance and damaged our
credibility abroad from time to time.

Murky History of our Coalitions

The emergence of Janata Party and its victory in 1977 general
elections was a turning point in Indian politics. In a landmark judgement in
1975, Allahabad High Court convicted Indira Gandhi debarring her from
contesting elections for six years for corrupt electoral practices in her 1971
election against Raj Narain. Her machinations to vindicate her position only aided
the public ire to flare up. Her popularity plummeted sharply forcing her to
impose Emergency and postpone elections. Demanding her resignation, Jai Prakash
Narayan launched ‘Sampoorna Kranti’ (Total Revolution), a vigorous
campaign against corruption and a self-serving administration. His call received
tumultuous response throughout north India. Heeding his appeal, the opposition
parties merged together to form the Janata Party. Even from the ruling Congress
a sizeable chunk parted along with Jagjivan Ram to join JP. Riding on the popular
wave against corruption and tyranny, Janata Party won the elections and formed
the government with a comfortable majority. Janata Party’s formation was viewed
not as a coalition of political convenience but as a potent force united by
common aims and driven by what had once appeared a cohesive leadership that had
forged together in oneness after dissolving their erstwhile party based
identities. India was celebrating victory of good over evil.

However, all the public euphoria proved to be short lived as
inter-personal and inter-group feuds, rivalries and ambitions started surfacing
from the first day.The fusion of the erstwhile
parties and ideologies could not level up the crevices between them which
deepened with warring leaders, stalwarts like Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and
Jagjivan Ram, pulling it apart from the very top. Thus, the Janata Party
Government that had created history by trouncing Indira Gandhi and her Congress
Party for the first time ever amidst much fanfare, collapsed as a failed
experiment in 1979.

VP Singh was viewed as a towering leader in the Indian politics and
even his exit from the Rajiv Gandhi Government became a momentous event.His coalition (National Front) also crashed
within 11 months in 1990.A funny
culture of strange coalitions started evolving soon giving hopes even to
fractious factions of small numbers in the Parliament to form government.Chandra Shekhar had a direct support of a
Janata Dal breakaway group of just 64 MPs when he was sworn in Prime Minister
with the ‘outside support’ of Congress. As was expected, the Congress pulled
down this government within four months after trading malicious charges and
counter charges. The country was thus again pushed to mid-term elections in
1991.

Having failed to win majority in the 1991 general election, the fledgling
Narasimha Rao Government depended upon the support of Left Front. When faced with a no confidence motion, it survived
by buying JMM support in 1993 and remained embroiled in numerous corruption
scandals some of which involved the Prime Minister himself. The 1996 general
election again threw up a hung Parliament. Turbulence marked the next phase of
Indian politics with Atal Bihari Vajpayee having to resign within 13 days of
his first tryst with the prime ministerial reality.Coalitions also sprinkle fortunes
indiscriminately and often bestow greatness upon some individuals who might
never have dreamt of such profusion of grace from the Providence if the
worthier had not rivalled themselves. Thus came Deve Gowda, a compromise Prime
Minister, to lead a fragile coalition of the United Front that lasted barely 10
months forcing yet another pre-mature general election in 1997.

IK Gujral who succeeded Deve Gowda also failed to keep his coalition
partners like Lalu Prasad Yadav and DMK, and outside supporters like Congress in
good humour, thanks to fodder scam and Jain Commission’s indictment of DMK in
the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The government collapsed cutting short
Gujral’s tenure of 11 months.

In our short but roller coaster history of coalitions, the NDA
regime under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been qualitatively a
different experience. His first stint lasted
only 13 days. The next one too was cut short by Jayalalitha withdrawing her
support and letting the NDA government collapse within 13 months. Yet, it was marked with some historic events
like the nuclear test, the Lahore summit and the Kargil War.

The third time, however, NDA romped home again with a comfortable
majority of 303 seats in the 1999 elections. The NDA government not only
completed a full five-year term under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but was also marked
by some momentous achievements like highways development projects, foreign
policy shift to improve relations with Pakistan and China, and a number of
economic reforms that accelerated growth at a record level of 7% in 2003. There was, of course, a flipside of the
Vajpayee government too.Incidents like
the Indian Airlines hijack, terrorist attack on the Parliament, the Tehelka
scandal et al marred an otherwise progressive era of good governance. Yet, despite
pulls and pressures of coalition partners and detractors galore, Vajpayee
managed the coalition deftly with sagacity and statesmanship for a full tenure
of five years.

Then came the Congress led UPA coalition in 2004 which is now in the
midst of its second phase. In a unique departure from the established
democratic norms, India has a Prime Minister who is not a directly elected
representative of the people.Manmohan
Singh is undoubtedly the world’s most educated Prime Minister – and the least
visible and most silent too.Further, he
is also the humblest of the valiant warrior clan he comes from. Although highly
admired for high integrity and probity in public life, he survived a crucial
‘Confidence Vote’ by garnering support through dubious means amid high drama enacted
in the well of the House. It is now common knowledge how currency notes flew in
the well of the House in July 2008 as an evidence of cash paid to some BJP MPs through
‘couriers’ from Samajwadi Party with a view to bribing them in exchange of
their vote for the government.

An Era of Unprecedented Corruption and Misrule

No doubt, the economy grew at a record of 7% in 2007-08, but scandals
and scams tarnished the image of the UPA government to such an extent that in
its second term the governance itself came to a grinding halt under the ever
rising sooty smoke of scams – each bigger than the previous.What hits the UPA Coalition harder is the
fact that these revelations have not come from some jealously conducted sting
operations by media but from the country’s highest constitutional watchdog
institution – the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India.

First, the government found it hard to proceed against A Raja and his
accomplices for fear of DMK withdrawing support. In the Commonwealth Games
scandal there were too many Congress heavy weights involved that the government
again moved reluctantly, if not apologetically, against the culprits.Some were just let off too. Unprecedented corruption
cases involving a large number of ministers and coalition partners has virtually
destroyed India’s credibility even as the flood of scams refuses to abate. Investments
dried out, prices soared in the worst inflationary environment and economic
growth has now nose-dived to below 6%.

Obviously, India is under a Coalition curse. Interestingly, the
coalition scenario throws open sudden opportunities for anybody and everybody
to make a killing.It is now an emerging
culture that offers unusual opportunities to even those without any political
identity – the independents.What bargaining
power can a couple of MPs/MLAs have on the floor of the House where the tussle
is to form or fell a Government? In normal times, sweet nothing; but enormous
if the House is evenly balanced or the majority group’s edge is very thin in
number. Madhu Koda, an independent MLA then, went on to become Chief Minister
of Jharkhand despite being an independent. Now an MP, he is in jail for amassing a
staggering fortune of Rs 4000 crore through corrupt means. Coalition norms
allow him to replicate his Jharkhand tactics in New Delhi and become India’s
Prime Minister one day too soon in the given political scenario. Gopal Konda,
another rags-to-riches independent MLA, also now in jail for lowly intrigues
and sleazy crime, had also colluded along with a small gang of 2-3 to help
Congress form the Government in Haryana for which he was rewarded with a
ministerial berth. A handful of JMM MPs
had no significance in the Lok Sabha until their support was needed to save the
Narasimha Rao government.They demanded
hefty amount of money and got it besides political rehabilitation they had
never foreseen. Again, in 2008 a similar opportunity knocked at the doors of
some sleepy MPs who were paid huge sacks full of high value currency.

Besides outright bribery, strange ways have been evolved to
innovatively trade crime and corruption in exchange of political support. Otherwise,
why should the CBI act in spurts moving in a blow-hot-blow-cold manner for
or against politicians? The agency is being used as a domesticated hound
that can be unleashed or muzzled whenever required to round up and hold the useful
delinquent politicians under control. In
August 2007, the CBI proceeded to prosecute Mulyam Singh for amassing benami
properties and in December 2008, it withdrew the case on the advice of
Solicitor General of India for no justifiable legal reason! Similarly in
Mayawati’s disproportionate assets case, the CBI soft-pedalled it to enable the
apex Court to quash the proceedings against her for want of evidence which the
CBI could have – and should have – provided. Ideologically or politically,
there is nothing common among Mulayam, Mayawati and Sonia Gandhi or Manmohan
Singh – only corruption and the danger of annoying beyond a point is holding them
on the same side.

Political thinkers in India and abroad are perplexed at the
incredible history being written by the world’s largest democracy today. Here,
we have a minority government (deficient by 21 MPs as of now) which is being
howled and condemned by all – within its own ranks and those out of it. It has
been badly stuck in an ever-expanding quagmire of scams, unable to run a
Parliamentary session or push through any major policy decision. Entire country
is angry at it as can be seem from the masses that readily rally behind any
call against the Government which has now become a synonym for corruption and
misrule. What a wonder it is that with all political parties, media, people
crying in chorus against it and even the judiciary and constitutional authorities
indicting it for so many wrongs, a minority government in India is not
collapsing. This is the power of illicit collusion! Innovative stratagems are
so deftly designed that it would be hard to tell a friend from a foe in this
nexus. While everyone seems to be shooting at the government, not all shooters
are its enemies. There are many in shooters’ garb who are just burning
crackers, firing only blank or smoke – no lethal ammunition. Those who vociferously
criticise the JUPA Government and vehemently oppose its policies outside the
Parliament, are actually the guarantors of its continuity – Samajwadi Party,
for instance. And we, the gullible voters, thought our elected representatives
were fighting to safeguard our interests in the Parliament.

Rise India, rise – Arrest the Decline Now!

Drastic reforms are needed urgently but how can reforms come in when
the very mechanism of introducing reforms has become defunct or hostile to the
idea? We are approaching the next general election which is due in 2014 or,
there is every probability, may be even earlier. In our own interest and that of our children’s,
we all need to initiate effort to remove the malady and reform the system. The
next election too might throw up a hung parliament at the Centre and hung
assemblies in the states.Initiation of
early reforms can commence even now if enough public opinion builds around
these ideas:-

(a)Public aversion to crime and corruption must become actively visible
and loud enough to force the political parties to avoid fielding tainted
candidates in the elections.

(b)Judiciary must take suo motu cognizance of criminal cases
pending against occupants of public offices including ministers, MPs, MLAs and
others and order speedy time bound trials by fast track courts. During the
pendency of the cases, they must remain suspended from their positions and re-instated
only after being fully absolved by the court.

(c)Pre-poll pacts among parties have the sanction of people who voted
them as partners in that Alliance. Therefore, they cannot break away and switch
sides midway as TMC and RLD have done in the current Parliament. If they do,
they must first resign and seek fresh mandate of the people in a snap poll with
the countdown for their mid-term election commencing from the day they resigned
or withdrew from the Coalition.

(d)In the event of there being a hung Parliament or state Assembly, the
Prime Minister or the Chief Minister should be elected by the elected MPs/MLAs
on the floor of the House.

(e)Finally, there should be fixed tenures of all Legislatures including
the Lok Sabha.It shall discourage
blackmailing tactics of the detracting forces and also the opportunistic rush
of the ruling clique to encash their momentary popularity on certain occasions.
Besides, fixed tenures will also save huge national wealth that is wasted in
repetitive mid-term polls forced upon the nation by whims and fancies of a few
individuals. Centre for Media Studies
(CMS) survey reports put the overall expenditure of India’s last general
election (2009) at a staggering Rs 10,000 crore.

Contributors

Welcome to People Power

People are the Nation. Let's do everything in our power to multiply and build up 'People Power'. We must force the Government to rid the system of corruption and callousness. The least we can do is to expose and humiliate the corrupt officials, self-serving politicians, Vadra-DLF or Gadkari type of business culture, and the divisive forces destroying public goodwill in the name of caste, religion and region.

Fortunately, all these evils are not too many. Nor are they too brave. Anna, Ramdev and Kejriwal have exposed how timidly and stupidly the corrupt react. All evil is concentrated in a few hands at the top from where the fountain of corruption flows downwards. This muck, therefore, cannot be cleaned up from bottom upwards. The clean up has to start from the top!